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Huskies stand tall, win District 6 title

Mifflin County heads to states

Sentinel photo by MATT STRICKER
Mifflin County’s Trey Shoemaker, top, controls Bellefonte’s Cole Stewart at 145 pounds during the District 6 Class 3A wrestling championship match Saturday in Tyrone.

TYRONE — For the fifth time in eight years and the second consecutive year, the Mifflin County wrestling team is the dual meet king of District 6 Class 3A.

Showing toughness, grit and determination — and getting a huge win from Trey Shoemaker against Bellefonte — the Huskies inched past Central Mountain 28-27 in the semifinals and defeated Bellefonte 35-27 in the title meet to bring home the district championship at Tyrone High School on Saturday.

“It was a bit of mystery on how well we would be able to wrestle. The weather this week didn’t allow us to be in the practice room much, so there was a lot of nerves coming into this day,” Mifflin County coach Martin said. “Today we had to be gritty. We do have some kids banged up. I challenged them and I said, ‘The team that wants it the most is going to win today and it’s not going to be pretty.’ Thankfully, that is us.”

Next up for Mifflin County (11-2) is another crack at getting that elusive victory at the PIAA Duals beginning Thursday at 6 p.m. against District 7 runner-up Seneca Valley (13-3). The Huskies are 0-8 in four previous appearances at the Giant Center.

“That’s a giant monkey on my back. I want to get a win at state duals. We’ll talk about that with the team heading into next week,” Martin said.

In the district final, Mifflin County won eight bouts against the Red Raiders (16-4) with bonus points in five of those.

The difference maker for the Huskies was the gigantic win by Trey Shoemaker at 145 pounds. The Husky freshman stunned the Bellefonte crowed when he put Cole Stewart, a 19-8 senior, to his back in 2:36.

“No doubt that was a match they thought they would definitely win but credit to Trey Shoemaker. The kid does not stop wrestling for six minutes and he gets kids in trouble. That was a huge match in the overall team score,” Martin said.

Shoemaker (9-9) took bottom to start the second period with the score 2-2. Stewart got too high on top and Shoemaker stacked him on his shoulders for the defensive pin.

“I wasn’t even thinking about the pin, I was looking for the reversal and maybe some back points,” Shoemaker said. “It all happened so fast. I have a lot of confidence on the mat, but I have to get better on my feet. I feel like I’ve improved a lot since the beginning of the year. It feels great to come in here as a team and getting it done.”

In addition to Shoemaker, Ethan Kauffman (18-7) picked up a 12-3 major decision over Dylan Dann at 132, Trey Kibe (27-1) decked Ken Simpson in 2:12 at 160, Jacob Krepps defeated Andrew Howe 5-2 at 182, Blaine Davis (20-6) flattened Dan Orndorf in 1:17 at heavyweight, Nic Allison (25-3) majored Aiden O’Shea 13-1 at 106, and in a battle of state-ranked wrestlers at 120, Christian Fisher (23-6) held on to beat Lane Aikey 4-3.

With the team score 32-27 in favor of the Huskies, the match came down to Derek Burk at 126. Burk opened up a 5-0 lead in the first period with a takedown and three nearfall points and made it stand in an 8-4 victory over Alex Coppolo, sending Mifflin County to Hershey.

“It was wonderful. Pure adrenalin was going through my veins. There was nothing but me and that kid on the mat. That’s what I focused on and I had to get it done,” Burk said. “With Fisher getting the win it came down to as long as I don’t get teched or pinned we’re winning. In my head, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. Just going out there and not only not giving up the bonus points but getting the win was pretty big. Hopefully, we can get our first win at the Giant Center.”

In the semifinals, bonus points were key. Central Mountain (11-2) won more bouts, 8-6, but had only one bonus-point victory. Mifflin County had five bonus-point wins and that was the difference.

“It wasn’t pretty wrestling to say the least (against Central Mountain) but our kids did a great job not giving up the bonus points,” Martin said. “All respect to Central Mountain. They are an excellent team and every time we get a win against them is always very exciting.”

The semifinals came down to the final bout at 120 with the Wildcats holding a 27-25 lead. Fisher made an escape in the second period stand up when he rode Johnny Shreffler out in the third. The Husky senior, a two-time state placer, showed his mental toughness by beating two state-ranked wrestlers on the day.

“Today was nerve racking. I knew coming in I’d have two decent kids to face. I knew they were state ranked. Whenever the Central Mountain match came down to me my stomach was shaking. It was pretty bad,” Fisher said. “Overall, it was a good day. I was proud of the way I wrestled. Two close matches I could have done a little better on, but I’m feeling pretty good. I feel like I’ve stepped it up a little bit since the beginning of the season. I still have work to do for districts and regionals. There is always room for improvement.”

With the score 21-16 in favor of the Wildcats, Mifflin County received huge victories at 285 and 106 to set up the Fisher win.

In a battle of state-ranked wrestlers, Davis dominated Jacob Edwards 5-0 at heavyweight. The Husky junior had a takedown on an inside trip in the first and an escape and takedown in the second.

“I walked out there as confident as I could be, no worries. I felt like I had that in the bag as soon as I stepped on the mat,” Davis said. “Once I took him down, I knew he wasn’t going to do anything on the bottom. I feel great right now. I just have to keep going out and wrestle as hard as I can.”

Allison, down 3-2 to Derek Keen in the second, hit the chin whip on the Wildcat freshman for the fall in 2:50.

“They all knew I was looking for it and I knew it would be harder to get than normal. I couldn’t have done it without the team. It’s a team effort,” Allison said. “I knew I needed a pin because Fisher was going to have a tough match. I just found it and I hit it and got the pin. The coaches preach getting bonus points and we got them when we needed them.”

Hard work, grittiness and metal toughness produced another championship team for the Huskies and provided a wealth of excitement and entertainment at the duals.

“To come out and beat Central Mountain and Bellefonte, it’s awesome. It went right down to the end; that makes for some really good wrestling for the fans,” Martin said.

District 6 Class 3A Duals

Mifflin County 28, Central Mountain 27

126: Dalton Bechtel, CM dec. Derek Burk, MC, 2-0.

132: Ethan Kauffman, MC pinned Kaden Busey, CM, 2:51.

138: Cody Coleman, CM dec. Kyler Everly, MC, 7-0.

145: Lane Porter, CM dec. Trey Shoemaker, MC, 4-3.

152: Alonzo Henry, CM dec. Anson Wagner, MC, 8-6.

160: Trey Kibe, MC won by forfeit.

170: Brycen Hassinger, MC major dec. Austin Confer, MC, 19-10.

182: Nik Miller, CM dec. Jacob Krepps, MC, 3-1 SV.

195: Gage Sutliff, CM dec. Dylan Grassmyer, MC, 3-2.

220: Tanner Riggle, CM dec. Isaac Matthews, MC 10-3.

285: Blaine Davis, MC dec. Jacob Edwards, CM, 5-0.

106: Nic Allison, MC pinned Derek Keen, CM, 2:50.

113: Jason Renker, CM won by forfeit.

120: Christian Fisher, MC dec. Johnny Shreffler, CM, 1-0.

Mifflin County 35, Bellefonte 27

132: Ethan Kauffman, MC major dec. Dylan Dann, B, 12-3.

138: Ryan Smith, B dec. Kyler Everly, MC, 3-0.

145: Trey Shoemaker, MC pinned Cole Stewart, B, 2:36.

152: Ethan Richner, B pinned Anson Wagner, MC, 1:17.

160: Trey Kibe, MC pinned Ken Simpson, B, 2:12.

170: Kyle Myers, B dec. Brycen Hassinger, MC, 4-2 SV.

182: Jacob Krepps, MC dec, Andrew Howe, B, 5-2.

195: Ethan Rossman, B pinned Dylan Grassmyer, MC, 2:43.

220: Max Berrier, B dec. Isaac Matthews, MC, 7-4.

285: Blaine Davis, MC pinned Dan Orndorf, B, 1:17.

106: Nic Allison, MC major dec. Aidan O’Shea, B, 13-1.

113: Aaron Little, B won by forfeit.

120: Christian Fisher, MC dec. Lane Aikey, B, 4-3.

126: Derek Burk, MC dec. Alex Coppolo, B, 8-4.

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